Print Industry Statistics (2026): Offset vs Digital, Paper, Malaysia/SEA and Colour

The takeaway: Global printing is a roughly US$868 billion industry in 2025, growing slowly overall (~2.2%/yr) — but the mix is shifting hard. Offset litho is contracting while digital print grows ~4.8%/yr, and packaging is the growth engine. In Southeast Asia, Malaysia’s printing sales have climbed steadily since 2021. Below: the numbers, each with a named source.

Methodology note: Market-size figures from different research houses vary because of scope and methodology. Where sources disagree (e.g., offset vs digital split, Malaysia market size), both are shown rather than averaged.

1. Global market size

• The global printing market is worth US$868 billion in 2025, forecast to reach US$969.7 billion by 2030 — a 2.2% CAGR (Smithers, The Future of Global Printing to 2030, 2025).
• Global print volume fell from 49.0 trillion A4 prints (2019) to 44.1 trillion (2024), and has little prospect of returning to pre-pandemic levels (Smithers, 2025).
• Growth is concentrated in packaging and labels, which are “largely immune” to the digital-media decline hitting publications (Smithers, 2025).

2. Offset vs digital

All from Smithers, The Future of Digital vs. Offset Printing to 2029 (2025) and its press release:

• Offset litho (sheetfed + heatset + coldset): US$354.4B (2019) → US$311.9B (2024) → US$307.9B (2029), a −2.5% CAGR. Projected 2025 value: US$310.9B.
• Sheetfed litho (the resilient part): US$183.3B (2024) → US$194.5B (2029), +1.4% CAGR — propped up by packaging.
• Digital print: US$165.5B (2024) = 18.4% of print sales, forecast US$209.1B by 2029 (21% share), a +4.8% CAGR. Projected 2025 value: US$175.2B.
• Volume vs value gap: digital was only 4.2% of global print volume in 2024 despite its ≥18% value share — digital commands a much higher price per page.
• Technology split within digital: inkjet is growing at +6.9% CAGR vs toner at +1.7% (2024–29).
• Longer term, Smithers forecasts the digital print market at US$251.1B by 2035 — 22.5% of all print value.
• Why: digital wins on short runs, lower setup waste and variable data; offset remains most cost-effective on the longest runs. Average run lengths are falling, which favours digital.

3. Paper consumption

• Global paper and paperboard consumption was 430 million tonnes in 2024, forecast to reach 483 Mt by 2032 (Statista, 2026).
• CEPI member countries (Europe): production 77.8 Mt in 2024 (+5.2%); apparent consumption 71.1 Mt (CEPI, 2025). Global paper & board production grew 3.6% in 2024 (CEPI, 2025).
• Structural shift: graphic (printing & writing) paper demand is declining while packaging (containerboard) is the largest and fastest-growing grade — containerboard dominates global paper demand (Statista, 2026).

4. Malaysia and Southeast Asia

Malaysia (official statistics, Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2025):

• Printing (MSIC 18110) sales value reached RM14,136 million in 2025, recovering from RM9,369M (2020) and exceeding the pre-COVID RM10,119M (2019).
• Economic Census (2022): gross output RM11,075.7 million; persons engaged 53,155. Printing remains the largest component of the printing-and-related-services sector.
• Independent market sizing: Malaysia printing market US$424M (2025) → US$551M (2032) (6Wresearch, 5.6% CAGR) — note this is far smaller than the DOSM sales-value series and measures a different scope.

Malaysia packaging print (Mordor Intelligence, 2026):

• Malaysia folding carton market: US$481.04M (2025) → US$662.94M (2031), 5.51% CAGR.
• By print technology: lithographic printing held 48.01% of the Malaysia folding carton market in 2025; digital printing is the fastest-growing segment at ~7.24% CAGR.
• Distinct from cardboard box manufacturing.

Southeast Asia (Mordor Intelligence, 2026):

• SEA corrugated packaging: US$17.48B (2025) → US$22.67B (2031), 4.4% CAGR — driven by e-commerce parcel growth.
• Asia-Pacific accounted for 40.21% of the global packaging printing market in 2025 (Mordor, 2026).

5. CMYK vs Pantone (spot colour)

• CMYK (process) uses four inks — cyan, magenta, yellow, key/black — and is the only practical method for photography and gradients. It is native to digital presses.
• CMYK colour drifts 2–5 ΔE across presses, papers and runs, because the same percentages print differently depending on conditions (Pantone/supplier technical guidance).
• Pantone (spot/PMS) uses a single pre-mixed ink per colour. The Pantone Matching System has 2,000+ numbered formulas mixed from roughly 18 base inks; ISO 2846-5 governs spot-ink production conditions. Spot inks routinely hold ΔE < 1 in production.
• Extended Color Gamut (ECG / “XG”) adds orange, green and violet to CMYK and can match roughly 90% of Pantone spot colours (Pantone XG workflow).
• No reliable, measured adoption statistic (“Pantone Matching System (PMS)”) was located. Colour-system choice is driven by job type (1–2 brand colours → spot; photos/many colours → CMYK), not a single adoption rate. Treat any percentage you see for this as an estimate.

6. Finishing usage

Common finishes used in commercial and card printing: matte, gloss, soft-touch laminate, foil stamping, spot UV, embossing, letterpress and edge painting.

• The clearest data anchors come from the 2025 consumer/professional surveys: 41% of card buyers value premium materials and 37% rate high-quality stock as important (VistaPrint, 2025), while foil finish ranked among the top elements that make consumers more likely to make contact (40%) (Adobe Express, 2025).
• No market-share statistic for finishing usage (e.g., “what % of cards are laminated”) was located in a citable source. Treat finishing percentages you encounter as vendor estimates.

FAQ

Is offset or digital printing bigger? By value, offset is still larger — offset litho was ~US$311.9B in 2024 versus digital at US$165.5B — but offset is shrinking (−2.5% CAGR) while digital grows (+4.8% CAGR) (Smithers, 2025).

Is the printing industry growing or declining? In aggregate it is growing slowly: ~US$868B (2025) heading to ~US$969.7B by 2030. The contraction is in publication/graphic print; packaging print is growing (Smithers, 2025).

How big is Malaysia’s printing industry? Official statistics put printing (MSIC 18110) sales at RM14,136 million in 2025 (DOSM). Third-party reports size the addressable market in the hundreds of millions of USD depending on scope (6Wresearch; Mordor Intelligence).

Do printers still use Pantone colours? Yes — spot/Pantone colours remain standard where brand-colour consistency matters (logos, packaging). CMYK covers photography and general work. No reliable measured “adoption rate” exists.

What is the most common business card finish? Matte and gloss laminates are the baseline; soft-touch, foil and spot UV are premium options. No citable usage-share statistic was found.